Fluid can punch and opener



April 28, 1953 A. JONES FLUID CAN PUNCH AND OPENER Filed Feb. 23, 1949 ATTORA/EVJ Patented Apr. 28, 1953 39 N9 QPE FP. V ,elleithnes arbnMent I 95? Serial nitrite Thisinvention relatesto punchin and open.- ing devices for fiuid-contai-hing ea and barul to ann -events?fl i s e ei in e and opener."

The main object of my invention is to provide mechanical means i for instantly a'ndjconveniently opening cans containing -b evera'ges, tr-uit and vegetable juices, paints, "varnishes; oils and the like, by perforating tHeAtOppf-the can involved in two spaced positions, allowing the fluid contents to'be pouredfrorn' thelcanthus'opened."

Another objecti's to prov de alrnariually opere ated mechanical punching" device "adapted to'su'p port a can to be opened ma predetermined position for ensuring reception of the' pun'chin'g in strumentalities of the device injv ably in proper pcsition'to causesatisfactor'y pouringfand empty-.- ing of the can punched by theidevice;

A further object is to' hav a .vrticallyeguided punch assembly with a hand1e -rcrming i1ever J disposedinsuch position as'ltopresentthe-acute end of the opening to the edge of the can inorder to facilitate control oflthe pouringor drinking from the can when punched.

other objects and ladvantages of the invention will appear inifiirther dtaiLaS-the. specifica: tion proceeds.

In order-to ,ziacilitate-.ready. comprehensicniof this 7 invention for a proper appreciationiofethe salient features thereof, :the "invention is illus.-. trated on thesacc'ompanying .idrawing sfcrmin part hereof, and iniwhicli:

Figurel is a front elevationcfa-fluid campunch and openermade accdrding-totthe inventionand embodying the salient features. thereof in a prac tical form;'

Figure 2 is a side "elevation iofsthe same ,canopening and punching dviee Zas .l-Shbwri in, Fi ure 1; a. I s

Figure 3 is .a transverse section itaken ion; -line 3 3m/Figure;1; a

iiol (creamer) 2 Figure r-is another transverse section taken on 111164 4 in F iglli'elf In the various views, the same reference numerals'indicate thesairie orlikeparts. Cali openers andpunches' are, of course, well known aso perated by hand,'but due to the fact t at onehandisoccupie'deither in holding the can to he opened or retainin it steady on a support-wh-ile -the other-hand is use'dto hold the can opene'r'or' punch; a' certain amount of time; as well as manual strain; is invplved in opening a can in emnrcurmncr 'o r tne fluid from the can. Inhr der to obtain a proper'action of the fluid when'" being pc rec'gfrcma can, it is, of course, r sary'te -liavenotonly a pouring opening in the op fof the c an hut' also a ventilation opening to allow air to enter "and displace the fluid issuing i-rem the pouring opening. As already intimated, hand punch s which :Will effect this result are naturally liinit'ed in their operation, which is" necessarily slow; while in restaurants or inother establishments dispensing fruit juices, beverages and the likefr'om cans to patrons; ex.- pea i'c'i-nns 'rflacu ired in opening the cans which obviously necessitates the'use" of mechanical means merelyclontrolled or operated by'the hand. "U'p'on considering this problem, it has occurred tome that a mechanical device should be available which automatically holds-the caninproper position so that @nci attention .need ;be directed to the holding of the can in proper position, while on the other hand, the device should also 'be equippedwith -fa' ,cili ties "for punching the two reduiredholes simultaneously in thetop of the tied; As 'a result, Ihavesucceeded ,lngpiate 6 in- 91 tothe sideof vvsinholes .1, l,

I vhich near the eee se iw d lah si nt s el backp..... c 6,.wh shelf 8 apair of stopsl-Lw arezbrazecl...orwelded into position in .ordersto limita vcan indicated in' ibroken lines .at IJLfromshif-ting' laterally on shelf 8. Members [2, and I 3Jmay be short pieces ofg-rnetal, suchias round or square rods, or bars, or-lthe like,whilethe 'ba-cklplate 16 and shelf, 8 are lower end of this plunger is fixed a punch assembly plate l9 by means of a screw 20. The mentioned punch assembly plate i9 is elongated and at one end 2| has the lower end 22 of a tension coil spring 23 engaging in a hole 21 therein, the upper end of this spring at 24 engaging about the outer end of a horizontal stud 25 extending rigidly forward from the back plate 6 to which it is brazed or welded. Adjacent to the rear end 2| of punch assembly-plate I9 is fixed a depending pointed stud or punch member 26. The lower end or coil 22 of spring 23 may be arranged to encircle the upper end of punch 26 immediately beneath the punch plate l9 instead of engaging in hole 21 in the punch plate, if so desired, but independent engagement with the punch plate through the hole mentioned is preferable. At the other end of horizontal punch plate M on the other side of screw 23 is a downwardly-extending triangular cutter 28 disposed at an angle of substantially 45 and cut at the sides to form the triangular cutter 28, having the lower pointed extremity 29 thereof preferably sharpened and pointed directly down, but terminating slightly above the level of the lower pointed end 3i! of punch 26. Due to the extension of plate l9 beneath the lower end of tubular guide I! toward end 2|, the plate also forms a stop engaging against the mentioned lower end of the tubular guide, thus limiting the upward movement of plunger i8. Normally, the spring 23 tends to raise the plunger into the position in which plate l9 would tend to abut the lower end of tubular guide H, but allow the plunger to be depressed downwardly in order to bring the punches 26 and 28 into contact with the top indicated at 34 in broken lines of can l4, as will now be more specifically considered.

Upon the upper end of back plate 6 are fixed a pair of upright parallel plates 32, 33 which are welded or brazed to the back plate and extend down to and are similarly brazed or welded to the upper bracket member IS, the two plates 32 and 33 being spaced apart a sufficient distance to receive the lower flat end 34 of a lever 35 between them, this lever throughout the greater portion of its upper length being preferably rounded to form the handle 36. The flattened portion of lever 35 extends upwardly a short distance to a lower intermediate point noted at 31, the lever being flattened on both sides to provide fiat en gaging faces slidably guided between theplates 32 and 33 between which the lower end 34 is connected for rocking movement about a horizontal axis as by pivot bolt 38 extending through both plates and the mentioned lower end of the lever. The upper end of plunger [3 is flattened at 39, and is substantially of the same transverse dimensions as the flattened portion 40 of lever 35. To the mentioned flattened upper end 39 of the plunger is connected for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, a pair of similar links M, 42 as by means of a further pivot bolt 43, while the upper ends of theselinks are connected for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis to the flattened portion 40 of lever 35 as by means of a third pivot bolt 44, and both links in upper idle position engaging against a forward upwardlyinclined portion 45 on each plate 32 and 33 to cooperate with the plunger l8 and its punch assembly plate 19 below the lower end of tubular guide member IT to form the stop means determining the upper position of the plunger and handle 36, as well as the punches 26 and 28.

' 'Ihe'arrangement is such that when the can 14 is placed between the two side stops i2 and 13 on supporting shelf 8, the top 3| of the can will be disposed a short distance below the lower ends 29 and 30 of the punching implements depending from plate (9 preparatory to punching two different holes in the can. Preferably, the back plate 6 is provided with a transverse stop 46 upon the front face thereof and spaced an exact distance from the bottom shelf 8 to accommodate the height of the can, and thus contribute to the stability of the latter when standing on shelf 8. When the can is thus placed in position, lowering handle 36 will cause links 4! and 42 to lower plunger l8 through tubular guide member if and thereby the plate 19 with its punch 26 and cutter 28 to cause both the lower end 30 of punch 26 and the lower pointed portion 29 of cutter 28 to enter the top 3! of the can. The handle 36 being lowered sufficiently to cause the punch and the cutter-to enlarge the holes to the predetermined sizes, release of the handle wil allow spring 23 to draw punch assembly plate i9 upward with plunger l8, links M and 42 and handle 36, simultaneously Withdrawing punch 26 and cutter 28 from the can. The result is that the operating parts are all restored to initial positions ready for punching another can as soon as the punched can is replaced. As indicated in broken lines at 47, the round hole produced by punch 23 which could, of course, be of any other form, merely serves as a ventilation opening to allow entry of air into the can to displace the fluid flowing from the can through the other opening, indicated in broken lines at 48, which is'produced by cutter 28. By causing the narrow pointed end 49 of pouring opening 48 to be directed toward the edge of the can, a. well-com trolled regulation of the pouring is possible, and thus forms an advantageous feature of the operation of the invention and the arrangement of the cutter;

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claim.

Havingnow fully described my invention, I claim:

' A fluid can-opening and punching device including a substantially upright supporting member forming a back plate, a horizontally-extending supporting shelf projecting rigidly forward from the lower end of the back plate, a pair of stops fixed at the sides of the supporting shelf for locating a can thereon in predetermined position, a further stop fixed on said back plate above said supporting shelf to hold the can down upon the latter, a pair 'of forwardly-extending bracket members fixed upon the back plate adjacent to the upper end thereof, a vertically-disposed tubular guide member extending rigidly through both bracket members, a vertically-movable plunger slidably mounted in said tubular guide member, .apair-of upwardly-extending and substantially parallel plates fixed upon the upper end of said back plate in spaced-apart relation,

a manually-operated lever pivotally connected at the lower end thereof to both upwardly-extending plates and extending between the latter, a link pivotally connected at one end thereof to an intermediate portion of said lever and at the lower end thereof to the upper end of said plunger, 2. spring-supporting member rigidly projecting from the upper end of said back plate, a substantially horizontal elongated punch assembly plate fixed to the lower end of the plunger, a depending punch fixed upon the punch assembly plate adjacent to one end thereof, a tension spring connected to the same end of said punch assembly plate and to said spring-supporting member on the back plate, a downwardly-inclined triangular cutter formed upon the other end of the punch assembly plate in spaced relation with respect to the punch and with the cutting point of the cutter in maximum remote position from the latter.

ALLEN JONES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

